Republican Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks: Her mythical claim of "bipartisanship" in Monroe County was debunked last night!

One of the major features of Republican County Executive Maggie Brooks’ failed campaign to become congressman for the 25th Congressional District was that there is “bi-partisanship” in Monroe County.

Nobody took that claim very seriously.

It was certainly NOT in evidence last night, when the Monroe County Legislature voted on the budget for 2013. The voting was done along purely political lines throughout the evening, the Democrats proposing changes to the budget, and the Republicans ( in the majority ) sternly shooting them down.

Only in one instance was there any hint of “bipartisanship:” an amendment to the budget( for $5,000 to promote public awareness of Monroe County’s lamentably high amount of infant mortality ) proposed by the Honorable Stephanie Aldersley , an Irondequoit Democrat, was tabled with a vote of 27 – 2.

Someone on the Republican side cheered and said “Bipartisanship!”

But some jokes are just too obvious to be funny.

The rest of the meeting was business as usual.

The big issue, of course, was Maggie’s new tax on snow and ice removal for the county roads. This doesn’t affect residents of the City of Rochester, but the people in the county towns where the Republicans hold sway. Maggie and her acolytes argue that this new tax is not a tax, it is a fee!

It is akin to that bit in Jesus Christ, Superstar, where the Pharisees offered Judas silver to betray Jesus. When Judas called it “blood money,” the Pharisees scoffed and said that it was a fee, nothing more.

Tax or fee? Well, “a rose by any other name…”

And it is by this bit of smoke and mirrors that Maggie and her acolytes claim that the county’s property tax remains flat at $8.99 per $1,000 of assessed value! Despite the fact that the tax bill will be higher as a result.

Oddly enough, it was the Democratic county legislators, most of whom live in the City of Rochester, who protested this new tax. The Republicans, representing the suburbs, did as they were told and voted for the budget, saddling their constituents with this new tax increase! And none of the Republicans attempted to explain the “benefit” of this undertaking! Perhaps because there was none.

It is a terrible thing to preach a myth as being “truth.”

In the minority or not, the Democrats preferred to be shot for sheep as lambs and protested.

There were also the “chargebacks” to the City of Rochester for indigent burials.

The county allows $1,250 for the burials of poor and homeless people. This consists of a cremation, a cardboard box to contain the cremains and an unmarked grave in “Potters’ Field.”

The county planned to raise the chargeback to $750,000. This suggests that there are hundreds of poor and indigent people who are buried in this way. And the majority of these poor souls are from Rochester.

Yet, after the meeting of the Charlotte Community Association on December 3, Anthony James Micciche, Republican County Legislator for the 26th district ( which covers parts of Rochester, Greece and Gates ) claimed that there were only “eight or nine” such burials this year!

Anthony James Micciche: The only Republican County Legislator to live in Rochester. He voted with his suburban Republican friends to continue the high levy against the city's water supply.

“Eight or nine” indigent burials do NOT justify a budget of $750,000! Perhaps Micciche got his figures wrong. But at no time during last night’s session did Micciche argue that the dollar amount was too high for so few burials!

At any rate, Democratic attempts led by the Honorable Carrie Andrews, Democratic Minority Leader in the County Legislature, to raise the allowance by $600 to allow for a more decent internment of deceased indigent and homeless people were repeatedly shot down by the Republicans.

No bipartisanship there.

Then there is the continued chargeback to the city residents for Rochester Pure Water upgrades that were undertaken years ago. Rochester pays more for its water than do the suburbs, and the difference keeps going into the maw of county government. Repeated attempts to bring our bill for water down to the level of the towns have been shot down by the Republicans, who say they are saving it for when they need it!

Last night was no different. The Honorable Cindy Kaleh, Democratic County Legislator for the 28th district, proposed lowering the water levy against Rochester. The Democrats supported it, the Republican majority shot it down. Micciche, the only Republican legislator who lives in Rochester ( albeit on the border of the Town of Greece ), played follow the leader and voted with his suburban Republican friends to continue the high levy on Rochester’s water. Perhaps Micciche has forgotten that he lives in Rochester. Perhaps Micciche was confused, because he hasn’t lived in Rochester long, having moved back into the city only four years ago for the sole purpose of running for the office of mayor of this city. At that time, Micciche was unaware of a little thing called “residency requirements.” Presumably, he knows about them now.

And the evening continued on in a similar fashion, the Democrats proposing, the Republican majority rejecting and partisanship in full view of anyone who cared to look.

The budget was passed, unchanged. The county tax bill will increase, despite the fraud perpetrated by the Republicans that property taxes continue to remain flat.

The Republicans seem to be obsessed with the figure $8.99! And they are largely unconcerned with the City of Rochester, except to use as a dumping ground for all the County’s problems. There will never be a meeting of the minds in the County Legislature, just clashing political platforms.

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Rich Gardner has been writing about the history, culture and waterways of Upstate New York for years. His articles have appeared in U.S. and Canadian publications, and one book, Learning to Walk. He is an alumnus of Brighton High School and SUNY Geneseo. He operates Upstate Resume & Writing Service in Brighton and recently moved to Corn Hill, where he is already involved in community projects. "I enjoy the 'Aha!' moments of learning new things, conceptual and literal. City living is a great teacher."

Ken Warner grew up in Brockport and first experienced Rochester as a messenger boy for a law firm in Midtown Tower. He recently moved downtown into a loft on the 13th floor of the Temple Building with a view of the Liberty Poll and works in the Powers Building overlooking Rochester’s four corners as Executive Director for UNICON, an organization devoted to bringing economic development to the community. He hopes to use his Rochester Blog to share his observations from these unique views of downtown.